


Lay Me Gently in Stone

by clownenergy



Series: Zutara Month 2020 [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M, Reincarnation, Zutara Month 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:33:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24019822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clownenergy/pseuds/clownenergy
Summary: In the wake of her death, Oma is carried to her grave.
Relationships: Oma/Shu (Avatar), Zuko/Katara
Series: Zutara Month 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1728916
Comments: 2
Kudos: 51





	Lay Me Gently in Stone

**Author's Note:**

> Day 5: Cave of Two Lovers

They built a monument to him in the cave after the war. Oma hasn’t returned there in decades, but it is at the last request to her children to bury her next to the only man she ever loved.

The journey through the caves is strenuous and long. Oma’s children have to carry her on a stretcher through the makeshift tunnels, careful to avoid the badgermoles that still lurk. But neither party speaks, except Oma, who tells them where to go and where to stay away from.

The monument is sculpted from stone. There, Shu sits on his feet with his ankles crossed under him. He leans forwards, lips puckered and sharing a kiss with the air. The earthbenders have said they would craft a statue similar to his soon but they haven’t had time since rebuilding after the war.

Their promises were nothing to her though. Their war separated Shu from Oma, and then it took him away without care.

“Place me there,” she says, shakily pointing a finger to the base of the monument.

There sits the mound of Shu’s coffin. He was placed there decades ago. Her children, two sons, bend the lid of the stone coffin away and place it next to them.

“Are you sure about this, mother?” the oldest says.

“Yes. Come on, I don’t have long.”

They lift her from the stretcher and place her gently in the stone. Placing a hand next to the wall that separates the two placements from the other, a tear falls from the corner of Oma’s eye. Even in the wake of her death, they are still separate.

“We’ll wait, mother,” her youngest states, fists clenching at his sides. “We can’t let you die alone.”

A faint smile pulls at her lips. “You two have been my greatest gifts.” Oma rests her hand at her side. “I am not alone.” They have already said their goodbyes. When the lid encloses her inside the coffin, she is iron in her resolve, knowing that in death, or the next life, they will meet again.

***

The entrance to the cave opens. As the Dai Li throws someone in, Katara whips around, hoping it could have been Aang or Sokka, someone she could trust.

Someone stumbles through the opening and lands on their knees. He lifts his head, but before she even sees his face, she knows who it is. It is instinctual. Katara would know him simply by the way he breathes.

“Zuko.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I know I've missed a couple days but I didn't vibe with the prompts. Inspired by Work Song by Hozier.


End file.
